Knowledge, Compassion, Prayer Will Make America ‘One Nation’ Again:

America is in decline and the slope to get it back to its former glory is very slippery. Many Christians are concerned, but many more need to be. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. In this article, Dr. Ben Carson discusses what needs to happen to prevent America from suffering social, moral and ethical demise.

The culture wars have grown bitterer than ever, with social media being the primary escalator. Heated debates about sensitive topics like gay marriage and health care reform have dominated virtual conversations. Twitter arguments and Facebook rants seem to fuel anger with one another rather than solve problems.

Many Americans have grown weary and want to see the arguments diffused. Ben Carson is one of them.

In 1987 Carson successfully separated conjoined twins who were joined at the back of the head. He is the recipient of many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to him in 2008 by President George W. Bush, and had the honor of speaking at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. He has authored six books, including Gifted Hands, an autobiography that made into a hit movie in 2009. His latest release, One Nation, recently hit bookstands.

These days, Carson is a columnist for the Washington Times and Fox News contributor.

Even before retiring from surgery in 2013, Carson has been on a mission to rally the citizens of the United States—and the Church—to unite.

“It seems to me that we are all divided. We used to be united. I want people to realize we are not each other’s enemy. Wedges are driven between us to create wars of every type, and to divide and conquer. Jesus said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’”

In One Nation, Carson wants to show Americans where the real division comes from and how to heal it. Each chapter ends with bullet point to tell people how they can get involved. His hope is to spark people to action: “This is our nation. We the people are really in charge if where it goes. We are not innocent bystanders, even though we think we are. We actually can play a very significant role in the direction of our nation.”

He wrote a letter to the readers of One Nation. In that letter, he addressed the need to overcome differences:

Worst of all, we seem to have lost our ability to discuss important issues calmly and respectfully regardless of party affiliation or other differences. As a doctor rather than a politician, I care about what works, not whether someone has an (R) or a (D) after his or her name. We have to come together to solve our problems.

In One Nation—and often during public speeches—he stresses several important needs in America.

The first need, he believes, is to bring back Judeo Christian values.

“These are the values that guided our lives and led us to the pinnacle position in the world faster than any nation in history,” he said.

Another thing that is crucial to the strength of our nation, he says, is knowledge.

“One of the most important things you can do as a human being is to arm yourself with knowledge. Knowledge is the formidable foe of falsehood, and a formidable ally of truth. It is much easier to discern what is going on and talk about it in an intelligible way when we are educated,” Carson explained. “We need to learn. Right now, if I were to go out in the street and talk to people, they would know more about Dancing With the Stars than major events in country and world.”

The best way to start, Carson advises, is to spend a half hour per day learning something you don’t know. It doesn’t matter whether it is math, science, geography or history.

Carson said, “If you do that for one year, you’ll be a different person.”

America can recover from it’s slip but it will take a concerted effort from those who care enough to make and promote significant change. Dr. Ben Carson is a wonderful man of God with some very poignant and wise views about what’s going on and what needs to happen. I encourage you to get more concerned that ever and join with others who want to influence Christ for culture.